[Europe/International]ICRSE, 180 ORGANISATIONS AND 600 INDIVIDUALS ASK AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL TO SUPPORT DECRIMINALISATION OF SEX WORK
The International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE), Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (SWAN), Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW), La Strada International, Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW), and Transgender Europe are amongst the 180 organisations signatories of a letter to Amnesty International Board of Directors urging them to show courage and support the draft policy on decriminalisation of sex work.

[UK] Supporting transgender employees
We may only be in July, but 2015 could be known as the year that transgender issues became mainstream. People like Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox & Kellie Maloney have undoubtedly increased public awareness through the media. However, dealing with transgender issues in the workplace may have been left in the dark

[Germany]TGEU welcomes Decision against Facebook’s “Real Name” Policy
On July 28, 2015, the data protection authority in Hamburg, Germany, declared that suspending an account due to using a pseudonym, unilateral changes of an account to the “real” name and requesting a copy of an official piece of identification are inadmissible.

[Kuwait]Transsexual health clubs busted
Transsexuals working in health clubs are being investigated after sources cited that unethical behavior is still present within these clubs. Undercover officers booked special sessions in some of the suspected health centers and five workers were arrested as a result of their residence being expired.

[Canada]B.C. among few provinces without trans legislation
When rainbow flags and noisy revellers fill Vancouver's Davie Street for the city's annual Pride Parade on Sunday, there's one political leader who will be conspicuously absent: Premier Christy Clark.

[USA]12 Devastating Facts About the Trans Latino Community
Transgender Latinos encounter pervasive discrimination and violence in almost every aspect of their lives. Gender, race, ethnicity, immigration status, class and language collide in frightening ways for members of the trans Latino community, making quotidian, ordinary aspects of everyone's lives like crossing the street or sitting in Algebra I class anxiety-inducing or even life-threatening.

[USA]Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders to honor Jennifer Finney Boylan
Earlier this week, the Boston-based legal organization Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) announced that it would honor transgender advocate, best-selling author, and GLAAD co-chair Jennifer Finney Boylan with the Spirit of Justice Award. This honor seeks to recognize Boylan for her writings, teachings, and activism, which have played a significant role in articulating what it means to be transgender.

[USA]NCTE Welcomes National HIV/AIDS Strategy for 2015-2020, Calls for Greater Focus on Trans People, Sex Workers
The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) welcomes the release of the updated National HIV/AIDS Strategy for 2015-2020. We particularly welcome the Strategy’s identification of transgender women as a distinct high-risk population, “noting the particularly high burden of HIV among Black transgender women.” We agree, as the Strategy states, that the nation “must remain vigilant in increasing knowledge and appropriate support and interventions for this population.” The Strategy appropriately recognizes that social stigma, trauma, and lack of cultural competence in health care are particularly acute for trans people, and that HIV efforts should promote trans leadership and tailored models to deliver care to trans people.

[CA, USA]Victory! Transgender Woman Wins Coverage for Breast Reconstructive Surgery in California
When Kenna Fisher looked through her health plan two years ago, she was disturbed to see that it had specific exclusions – and that they mostly applied to transgender women. A transgender woman and librarian who works at UC Berkeley, Kenna says that the exclusions just didn’t strike her as right. “My treatment should be based on what I need,” says Kenna, “not what someone else feels is the right or wrong way to transition.”